EDITORIAL: Going topless inappropriate; not criminal

Published: Friday, February 22, 2013 at 09:16 PM.

Unfortunately, Republicans apparently skipped class the day in “Limited Government 101” when they taught that this philosophy also applies to social issues.

Republicans love to – correctly – claim that the government should stay out of people’s wallets, but when it comes to social issues, they are just run-of-the-mill statists, eager to impose their view on the rest of society.

In the meantime, precious General Assembly minutes and hours are being wasted on yet another new law that won’t have any impact on all but a handful of state residents. Its only real impact will be to add yet another page to the volumes of government regulations imposed on us all.

While you might agree – as we do — that women shouldn’t be parading around naked, we also happen to believe that not all inappropriate behavior should be criminalized and certainly not made into a felony.

And while this debate may continue being argued, one debate is being lost – the one where Republicans claim to be for less government.

It is more and more difficult to take Republicans seriously when they claim to be the party of “limited government.”

Every week The Gazette publishes a list of new laws passed by either house of the state General Assembly (both now controlled by Republicans).

Last Sunday’s list took up about three quarters of a full page.

What would be nice is to publish a list of laws that have been REMOVED from the books, but we haven’t seen that list yet, probably because it doesn’t exist.

The latest exercise in the expansion of government under Republican rule is a new law that would send women to prison for going topless in public.

This law – which has widespread support from Republicans and Democrats alike – would amend the state’s indecent exposure law.

Under the new language – and we’re not making this up – the definition of “private parts” would now include “the nipple, or any portion of the areola, or the female breast.”

Going topless may be inappropriate, but is it criminal?

If a woman is, wait for it … busted for such a revelation, she could be charged with a felony and serve jail time.

The genesis of this bill is two topless rallies held to promote women’s equality in Asheville.

Apparently, this is all it takes to spur limited government Republicans into taking up legislative time and passing new laws – a couple of rallies in one corner of the state.

Bill co-sponsor Rep. Rayne Brown told members there is confusion over what state indecency laws actually prohibit.

“I think our state deserves clarity on this issue,” Brown said.

No, Rep. Brown, what our state deserves are conservatives who actually make reducing the size and scope of government a priority.

Unfortunately, Republicans apparently skipped class the day in “Limited Government 101” when they taught that this philosophy also applies to social issues.

Republicans love to – correctly – claim that the government should stay out of people’s wallets, but when it comes to social issues, they are just run-of-the-mill statists, eager to impose their view on the rest of society.

In the meantime, precious General Assembly minutes and hours are being wasted on yet another new law that won’t have any impact on all but a handful of state residents. Its only real impact will be to add yet another page to the volumes of government regulations imposed on us all.

While you might agree – as we do — that women shouldn’t be parading around naked, we also happen to believe that not all inappropriate behavior should be criminalized and certainly not made into a felony.

And while this debate may continue being argued, one debate is being lost – the one where Republicans claim to be for less government.